Cheyenne: Fruit of the Withered Vine
by Glyndewar
Summary: A story about Cheyenne Martin and Ivy Slade as freshmen at Easton.
1. Chapter 1: Coming to Easton

Cheyenne: Fruit of the Withered Vine

Chapter 1

"Good luck, Cheyenne!" Rinnan Hearst called out cheerfully from the window of the white limousine that had dropped Cheyenne Martin off for her first day at Easton Academy. "Remember, don't study too hard!"

"Thank you, Rinnan!" Cheyenne responded dutifully, and her stepmother smiled back. Then Rinnan's face vanished as the tinted window rolled up and the limo started off on the hour-long drive back to Manhattan.

Life is just not fair, Cheyenne thought to herself as she watched her stepmother's limo recede into the distance. My family were captains of industry back in Victorian times, and now we barely have a couple million left in the bank. Meanwhile, _she _gets ten million a picture and her face splashed on movie posters all over the country. Cheyenne knew that only her father's marriage to Rinnan Hearst had saved them from having to mortgage the country house in Litchfield, but she still resented Rinnan for breaking up her parents' marriage and forcing her mother to live in Jersey, of all places.

The limo driver had already taken Cheyenne's luggage to her new room in Bradwell Hall, so Cheyenne decided to explore around campus a little. As she walked across the neatly-trimmed lawn, Cheyenne thought about Ivy Slade, her best friend from middle school and now her roommate at Easton. Cheyenne and Ivy did everything together: dancing at cotillions held by what was left of the Astor Four Hundred, CTY camp at Dickinson College, showing hunters and jumpers on the horse-show circuit. Cheyenne realized again how lucky she was to have a friend like Ivy, someone she could rely on, someone she could trust with her life.

Of course, Cheyenne and Ivy were different in many ways too. While Cheyenne was petite and blond, Ivy was tall and raven-haired. Where Cheyenne loved history and politics, Ivy's passion was computers. Like Cheyenne, Ivy came from one of Manhattan's best families, but unlike the Martins, Ivy's family still had a ton of money. Because of this, Ivy was not nearly as obsessive about her birthright as Cheyenne was. Still, Ivy understood Cheyenne better than anyone else, and Cheyenne knew they'd be Best Friends Forever.

"Watch out!" a guy's voice shouted. Cheyenne turned her head toward the voice, and a small leather ball struck her on the side of her head. She saw a cute guy jogging toward her, a lacrosse stick gripped in his left hand.

As the guy drew closer, Cheyenne realized he wasn't just cute; he was drop-dead gorgeous. Wavy black hair, ice-blue eyes, a lean, well-muscled body…Cheyenne closed her eyes, then opened them again, wondering if this handsome stranger was a concussion-induced hallucination, but he was still there.

"God, I'm sorry about that!" he said earnestly, running his fingers through Cheyenne's hair. "I don't feel a bump or anything. You'll probably be okay."

He grinned and extended his hand to Cheyenne. "Damian Cross, of the Main Line Crosses. Pleased to meet you."

Cheyenne smiled back as she introduced herself, even though she was still a little self-conscious about her braces. Damian rested his hand on Cheyenne's arm and leaned in a little closer with a worried look on his face. "Maybe I should walk you back to your dorm. You look a little dizzy."

"That sounds lovely," Cheyenne said, meaning every word of it. As Damian led her across the quad, Cheyenne realized that for the first time in her life, she was totally and completely falling in love. This was not a gradual feeling; it came from out of nowhere and struck her full force, just like the lacrosse ball hitting her head. Now all I have to do is get him to love me back, Cheyenne thought as they approached the heavy double doors of Bradwell Hall, and my life will finally be complete.


	2. Chapter 2: Ivy

Chapter 2: Ivy

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Cheyenne opened the door to her room, and she and Damian stepped inside. Ivy was sitting on her bed playing with her laptop computer. Her black horn-rimmed glasses made her face look a little like a raccoon's. Ivy glances up from her computer and saw Cheyenne and Damian standing in the doorway.

Ivy's first reaction was to take off her glasses. Cheyenne frowned when she saw this; the only reason Ivy ever took off her glasses was to talk to a cute boy. Still, Cheyenne wasn't too worried. After all, although she was certainly pretty enough, Ivy was a little awkward in conversation. Of the two of them, Cheyenne was definitely more of a social butterfly, and guys flocked to her much more than they did to Ivy.

Damian dropped his hand from Cheyenne's arm and walked over to Ivy. "What are you doing?" he asked Ivy after Cheyenne had introduced the two of them.

"Hacking into the Clay Heuristics website," Ivy said excitedly. "I'm only a couple firewalls away from the company's innermost secrets."

Cheyenne yawned and waited for Damian to politely lose interest in Ivy and turn his attention back to her. To her dismay, this didn't happen.

"That's awesome!" Damian exclaimed. "I actually want to be a software engineer when I graduate college, but my dad wants me to start out as an executive in the family shipping business."

Cheyenne groaned to herself. She would have to fall in love with the world's only movie star-handsome computer nerd. Why couldn't Damian be into wine tasting or stamp collecting, normal hobbies for guys of their social class, something that Cheyenne knew at least a little bit about?

"You should go for it," Ivy advised Damian. "That way, you can build security systems to keep out hackers like me." She laughed and patted the bed next to her. "Sit down, I'll show you how I'm doing it."

Damian hesitated, then shook his head. "I can't, I got to get unpacked and grab some dinner before evening chapel. But listen, I was wondering. Maybe you'd want to have dinner at the Red Barn next Friday?"

Cheyenne closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. She had passed the Red Barn on her way into Easton. As far as Cheyenne could tell, the Red Barn was the only fancy restaurant in Easton. The fact that Damian had asked Ivy on a date there meant he liked her a lot, maybe almost as much as Cheyenne liked him.

Ivy glanced uneasily at Cheyenne, then smiled at Damian. "I'd love to."

Damian smiled back. "Cool. I'll try to stop by after chapel. Take care, Ivy. You too, Cheyenne. Put an ice pack on your head if it still hurts." He flashed Ivy one final grin, then picked up his lacrosse stick and left, whistling under his breath as he did so.

"How could you do that?" Cheyenne hissed as Ivy put her glasses back on. "I'm in love with him! Wasn't it obvious?"

Ivy glared at her. "First of all, no, it wasn't obvious. And second, you fall in love with a new guy every few days. By the time next Friday rolls around, you'll have a new crush and you'll forget all about Damian."

Cheyenne shook her head. Ivy had a point, but this was no crush; this was true love, something she'd never felt before. Cheyenne could easily imagine herself and Damian married in ten years. If only Ivy wasn't in the way…

"Shy?" Ivy was waving her hand in front of Cheyenne's face. "Are we still friends?"

Cheyenne considered this. There was an old saying: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Ivy might be good at computers, but Cheyenne was a master at manipulating people into doing what she wanted. One way or another, she _would_ get Damian. And when she did…

Cheyenne smiled broadly as she hugged Ivy. "Friends," she agreed. "We'll always be friends."


	3. Chapter 3: Thomas

Chapter 3: Thomas

"Shy, can I borrow your amber necklace for my date Friday night?" Ivy asked eagerly.

Cheyenne turned her head away to conceal the fact that she was gritting her teeth. It was Wednesday night at dinner in the dining hall, and for the past three days Ivy had not shut up about her date with Damian. It's not fair, Cheyenne thought furiously. _I'm _the popular one, I should be the one going out with him.

Cheyenne turned back and smiled sweetly at Ivy. "Sure, you can borrow my necklace if you want."

"Thanks, Shy, you're the best!" Ivy exclaimed.

Damian waved as he walked past their table. Ivy immediately stood up to follow him. "You don't mind, do you, Shy?" she asked.

Cheyenne shrugged half-heartedly. Ivy hesitated, then followed Damian anyway.

A few minutes later, someone sat down across from Cheyenne. "Hey, Cheyenne," Thomas Pearson said casually. "How do you like Easton so far?"

"Hey, Thomas," Cheyenne answered. "It's not too bad. I guess I'm still getting used to it." Cheyenne knew Thomas from before Easton, when they both were growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Back then, Thomas had been a geeky, awkward boy who loved video games. Still, he had changed a lot since Cheyenne had last seen him. Thomas was actually pretty hot these days, and his bad boy mystique was the polar opposite of the equally handsome but much more clean-cut Damian.

"You want to come by my room and hang out for a while?" Thomas asked. "My roommate's painting in the art studio, he won't be back for a couple hours."

Cheyenne glanced over at Ivy, who was busy chatting with Damian, her hand resting casually on his forearm. She turned back to Thomas and shrugged. "Sure, why not? Sounds like fun."

When they arrived at Thomas's room in Ketlar Hall, Thomas opened his door and invited Cheyenne inside. Cheyenne sat down on Thomas's bed while Thomas pulled a six-pack of Sam Adams out from under the bed. He twisted the top off one of the bottles and handed it to Cheyenne. Cheyenne took a sip and decided she liked it.

As they drank their beer, Cheyenne and Thomas chatted about their lives at Easton. Thomas confessed with a certain pride that he had started buying drugs from a townie guy named Rick and reselling them to his friends at Easton. This was not news to Cheyenne, who had heard this story yesterday through the school rumor mill. Cheyenne did not tell Thomas she was in love with Damian.

By eight o'clock, Cheyenne and Thomas had each finished two bottles of Sam Adams and started on a third. Thomas set his bottle down on the floor and turned toward Cheyenne. "Hey, Shy," he whispered, his voice low and seductive.

Cheyenne turned to face him, and Thomas kissed her. Cheyenne considered pushing him away, but then she remembered Ivy's hand on Damian's arm. Forcing this unpleasant image out of her mind, Cheyenne kissed Thomas back every bit as passionately as he was kissing her.

After a few minutes of making out, Thomas's hand slid down the front of Cheyenne's slacks. At this point, Cheyenne did push him away. "I can't," Cheyenne said breathlessly. "I'm a virgin…"

Thomas laughed, a soft, gentle laugh. "Don't worry, Shy. There are plenty of things we can do without endangering your virginity." His hand slipped down Cheyenne's slacks again. This time, Cheyenne let him.

When they were finished, Cheyenne stretched out along the bed and looked at Thomas. "So…was this just a hookup, or are we like a couple now?" she ventured.

Thomas yawned. "Let me think about it overnight, babe. I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Okay," Cheyenne agreed. That was fine with her. Even though Thomas was definitely cute, Cheyenne didn't love him even one-tenth of the way she loved Damian.

As Cheyenne fixed her clothes, an idea struck her. If she could just get Damian to sleep with her, surely he would fall in love with her the same way she had with him…

Cheyenne smiled to herself, gave Thomas a quick kiss goodbye and hurried off into the cool evening air.


	4. Chapter 4: Cheyenne's Plan

Chapter 4: Cheyenne's Plan

"Listen, Shy, I wanted to tell you," Ivy began. "I'm going out with Damian tomorrow night, then Saturday morning I'm taking the train into the city for my grandmother's birthday. You want to come?"

"No thanks," Cheyenne declined. "I have a big biology test Monday."

Ivy frowned. "A test? This early in the year?"

Cheyenne rolled her eyes. "You know how Mr. Schriver gets." Ivy nodded.

Cheyenne was telling the truth about the test, but she could've easily studied Sunday instead of Saturday. The truth was that Cheyenne was angry at Ivy for going out with Damian, and even angrier at her for rubbing it in Cheyenne's face at every opportunity. Still, Cheyenne had been raised to believe in preserving a civil façade at all costs. As a consequence, Cheyenne held her anger in and refused to let herself vent by screaming at Ivy, no matter how good it would make her feel.

Tuning Ivy out, Cheyenne put on her shoes and prepared to venture out into the quiet night. "Where are you going?" Ivy asked.

"Just out for a while," Cheyenne answered. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"But it's after curfew!" Ivy objected.

Cheyenne shrugged and walked out without answering. She had to carry out her plan before Damian and Ivy went on their date tomorrow night, and she wasn't going to let a silly little rule like curfew get in her way.

Cheyenne hurried across the quad to Ketlar Hall, Damian's dorm. She entered by the side door and tiptoed past the dorm monitor's apartment. Damian's room was on the left side of the hallway, and being a senior, he had a single. Cheyenne carefully pushed Damian's door open and slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

Damian was asleep on his bed. Cheyenne smiled to herself and proceeded to put her plan into motion. Swiftly and efficiently, she removed her clothes and set them down on the floor, carefully folding her skirt and blouse so they wouldn't get wrinkled.

Once she was fully undressed, Cheyenne climbed into bed with Damian. Damian awoke as she did so, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

"Cheyenne?" Damian asked, his voice thick with sleep. "What the hell—?"

"Shh," Cheyenne soothed, putting a finger to his lips. "I love you. Make love to me."

"Cheyenne, I can't—" Cheyenne lowered her mouth to his, but Damian pushed her head away as he sat up.

Abruptly, it dawned on Cheyenne that Damian didn't want to make love to her. She had never imagined this could happen. Cheyenne had always assumed that the prospect of a beautiful naked girl in their bed would be irresistible to almost any guy. As the full impact of Damian's rejection hit her, Cheyenne pulled the sheets around herself and burst into tears.

Awkwardly. Damian put his arm around her shoulders. Cheyenne buried her face against his neck as she cried and cried.

"I'm sorry," Cheyenne said finally once her sobs had abated. "I thought if we made love, you'd fall in love with me the same way I fell in love with you."

Damian sighed. "You're lucky I'm a gentleman, Cheyenne. A lot of guys would've hooked up with you and still gone out with your roommate the next day."

"I don't understand!" Cheyenne wailed. "Why do you like Ivy so much?"

"Well," Damian said, "Ivy's beautiful, and we have a lot in common."

"But I'm beautiful too!" Cheyenne protested. "And I could learn to like the things you like."

Damian smiled kindly at her. "Ivy and I are both really into computers. You're a creature of the past, Cheyenne. You have no interest in the glories of cyberspace."

"Wow," Cheyenne said. "You're really smart. How'd you know that about me?"

Damian shrugged. "I'm just good at reading people, I guess. Come on, you should get dressed and head back now. I don't want my dorm monitor to catch you breaking visitation."

Damian averted his eyes while Cheyenne put on her clothes. "You won't tell Ivy about this, will you?" Cheyenne asked anxiously as she prepared to leave.

Damian winked at her. "It'll be our secret."

Cheyenne tried to kiss Damian goodbye, but he turned his head so she kissed his cheek instead. She hurried out of Ketlar without being spotted. When she arrived back at her room in Bradwell, Ivy was already asleep.

Cheyenne looked down at the sleeping Ivy for a long moment. She was still furious with Ivy for stealing Damian away from her, and the anger and resentment was eating away like acid at the very foundation of their friendship. Ivy would pay for this, she vowed to herself. Someday when she least expected it, Cheyenne would turn on Ivy the same way Ivy had turned on her. Shaking her head, Cheyenne changed into her nightgown, took a double dose to sleeping pills to calm herself and went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5: Cheyenne and Ivy

Chapter 5: Cheyenne and Ivy

That Friday night, Ivy got all dressed up for her date with Damian. She wore her little black dress and Cheyenne's amber necklace. When Damian came by to pick up Ivy at eight o'clock exactly, Cheyenne thought she'd never seen a more magnificently handsome guy, resplendent in his dark blue suit and red tie.

Damian gave Ivy a light kiss on the lips, then hugged Cheyenne. "How's your head feeling, Cheyenne?" he asked solicitously.

"It's fine," Cheyenne told him, still starry-eyed from the hug. "You can call me Shy if you want. All my friends do."

"No they don't!" Ivy objected. "I'm the only one that calls you Shy. You flip out if anyone else does."

Cheyenne thought of Thomas, who had called her "Shy" and she hadn't flipped out. "Well, you're Ivy's boyfriend, so you're allowed to call me that."

Ivy took Damian's arm, and he led her out of the dorm and across the quad to where the Town Car was waiting to drive them to the Red Barn.

When she was sure Ivy and Damian were gone, Cheyenne walked over to Thomas's dorm and knocked on his door. Thomas opened the door to greet her, and standing behind him was Noelle Lange.

Cheyenne hated Noelle, though she was always nice to Noelle's face. Noelle came from a family just as old as Cheyenne's, but with a lot more money. Plus, Noelle's long dark hair and pale skin gave her a classical beauty Cheyenne could only dream of. For these reasons, Noelle was almost guaranteed to be invited to join the Billings girls next year, while Cheyenne's own acceptance into Billings was by no means assured.

"Cheyenne." Noelle's voice was polite but distant. Brushing past Cheyenne, Noelle strode off down the hallway with the air of a queen overseeing her domain.

Thomas invited Cheyenne in and closed the door behind her. "What was Noelle Lange doing here?" Cheyenne demanded suspiciously.

"Actually, we were talking about you," Thomas confessed.

Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "About me?"

Thomas nodded. "She thinks I'm not good enough for a future Billings girl. She warned me to stay far away from you."

"Are you going to listen?" Cheyenne asked, intrigued that Noelle cared enough about her to do this.

Thomas shook his head. "I don't give a flying fuck what Noelle thinks. I like you, and I don't care who knows it." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a New York City subway token on a leather cord. "I wanted you to have this, as something to remember me by."

"Oh, how sweet!" Cheyenne exclaimed. So Thomas had a romantic side too; he wasn't a total bad boy after all.

After a couple hours of talking and making out, Cheyenne returned to Bradwell with the subway token around her neck. Ivy returned half an hour later, her eyes shining bright with excitement.

"Oh, Shy, I had the most wonderful time!" Ivy burbled. She then proceeded to give Cheyenne a blow-by-blow account of her date, until finally Cheyenne couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it!" Cheyenne shrieked. "You know I'm in love with Damian. It rips me apart hearing how happy you guys are."

"I'm sorry, Shy," Ivy said. "But I think I'm falling in love with Damian too, and he says he feels the same way. You're just going to have to deal with it."

"You're right," Cheyenne said contritely, but inside she was seething with resentment. One day, Ivy would pay for this, Cheyenne swore.

"Are we still friends?" Ivy asked.

Cheyenne hugged her. "Friends," she swore. But as far as Cheyenne was concerned, their friendship had a hairline crack right down the middle. It would only take one hard blow to shatter the fragile façade.

"What's that?" Ivy asked, pointing to the subway token.

"Thomas Pearson gave it to me," Cheyenne explained.

Ivy clapped her hands. "Cool! You guys should double date with me and Damian sometime."

"Maybe…" Cheyenne hedged. "Listen, it's been a long day. I should get some sleep."

"Okay," Ivy agreed. "Night, Shy!"

Cheyenne popped a sleeping pill, then lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, hoping to dream of Damian.

**If you have any ideas for continuing this story, please let me know. Thanks! And thanks to everyone who reviewed! Your comments really inspired me.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Conversation with Noelle

Chapter 6: A Conversation with Noelle

_Two months later_

Cheyenne pulled the sheets around her as she lay in Thomas's twin bed. While she watched him get dressed, Cheyenne fingered the subway token around her neck, the one Thomas had given her as a token of his affection.

"Better get dressed, Shy," Thomas warned her. "My roommate'll be back in like fifteen minutes."

Suitably motivated, Cheyenne hurriedly put on her underwear, then her skirt and blouse. She gave Thomas a quick kiss and prepared to head off.

"Want to go to the Red Barn Friday night?" Thomas asked casually.

Cheyenne frowned. This was the first time Thomas had ever asked her out to a fancy restaurant; usually, they would just hook up in his room while his roommate was out. Cheyenne wondered if this meant that Thomas was falling in love with her. She hoped not. After all, she wasn't in love with him either, and that would just make everything so awkward. Cheyenne reserved her love for one boy, and one boy alone: Damian.

"Can I think about it and let you know tomorrow?" Cheyenne asked.

"No problem, babe," Thomas agreed. He offered Cheyenne a glass of vodka, and Cheyenne accepted.

When Cheyenne finished the vodka, she kissed Thomas one last time, then hurried off toward her dorm, making sure Thomas's dorm monitor didn't see her coming out of his room. She had a chance to take Firsts this semester, and she didn't want to ruin that by getting caught breaking visitation.

As Cheyenne walked across the quad, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. Turning around, she saw Noelle approaching her, a grave expression on her beautiful face.

"Talk to you for a minute?" Noelle asked. Cheyenne nodded.

"You have to break up with Thomas Pearson," Noelle began without preamble.

"Why?" Cheyenne asked.

"He's a drunk and a drug dealer," Noelle explained. "Worse yet, he has no respect whatsoever for the traditions the Billings girls work so hard to uphold."

Cheyenne wrinkled her forehead. "But you're not a Billings girl yet. What do you care?"

"No, but I will be next year. And you will be too the year after that, _if_ you dump Thomas. Get the picture?"

Cheyenne shook her head. "I don't need you to get me into Billings. My mother and sister are both alumnae."

Noelle smiled. "I know your family goes back to the _Mayflower_ just like mine does, but they don't have any money, at least not enough to guarantee acceptance into Billings. You need a Lange to sponsor you, and I'll do that if and only if you get rid of Thomas."

Cheyenne stamped her foot. "I don't get it! You hardly even know me, why do you care so much who I go out with?"

"Because," Noelle explained patiently, "I see a certain potential in you, but you'll never be able to cultivate it if you ball-and-chain yourself to a loser like Thomas." She leaned in closer, her breath tickling Cheyenne's ear. "We're alike in some ways, you and I. We both eat men like air."

Cheyenne smiled at the Sylvia Plath quote. She remembered a promise she'd made to herself at age ten, that she would have as many boyfriends as she could juggle. Cheyenne might have broken that promise for Damian, but to tie herself down to Thomas, a boy she didn't love and probably never would love…

"I'll think about it," Cheyenne told Noelle. "But if I do break up with him, it'll be because I want to, not because you made me do it."

"That's fine," Noelle agreed. She hugged Cheyenne. "You'll make a great Billings girl."

Noelle walked off toward her dorm, and Cheyenne stood lost in thought in the middle of the empty quad. Finally, she turned around and headed toward Ketlar to give Thomas back his subway token.


	7. Chapter 7: Incriminating Evidence

Chapter 7: Incriminating Evidence

As Cheyenne sat on her bed studying for an algebra test, someone knocked on her door. Opening the door, she saw Noelle standing there holding a cell phone in her right hand,

"Can I talk to you alone?" Noelle asked, casting a significant look at Ivy sitting at her computer.

"Sure," Cheyenne answered. She followed Noelle out into the hallway.

"I have something I want to give you," Noelle began. She showed Cheyenne her cell phone. On the screen was a picture of Damian kissing a girl. Although the girl's face was partially obscured, Cheyenne could tell it wasn't Ivy.

"What is this?" Cheyenne asked. "How did you get it?"

"It's a picture of Damian making out with Paige Ryan," Noelle told her. "I took it at the Legacy last month."

"Where was Ivy while this was going on?" Cheyenne wondered.

"Playing video games with a bunch of guys, where else?" Noelle said with an exasperated snort.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Cheyenne asked.

Noelle smiled. "So you'll owe me a favor in the future. I know you're really good at politics, and you could be useful to have at my side when I launch my campaign to become queen of Billings." She laughed, an innocent little laugh that belied her intensity of purpose. "I know it's a little premature, since I'm not even in Billings yet, but I believe in planning ahead."

"That's fine," Cheyenne agreed. "If you'll help me break up Damian and Ivy, I'll help you out when you need it."

Noelle punched a button on her cell phone, and suddenly Cheyenne's phone vibrated, letting her know she had a message. "There you go," Noelle said with a tinge of satisfaction in her voice. "Now all you have to do is show this picture to Ivy and watch the sparks fly."

When Cheyenne returned to her room, Ivy was sitting on her bed studying for an English exam. Cheyenne walked over and sat down next to her.

"I have something to show you," Cheyenne announced. She brought up the picture of Damian and Paige onto the screen and handed the phone to Ivy.

"Who is this girl?" Ivy asked after staring at the phone for a long minute,

"Paige Ryan," Cheyenne told her. "She's one of the Billings girls." Cheyenne took her phone back and sent a copy of the picture to Ivy's phone.

"Where did you get this?" Ivy asked.

"Noelle took it at the Legacy while you were playing video games," Cheyenne answered truthfully.

"Why are you doing this?" Ivy demanded, a hard note of suspicion creeping into her voice.

Cheyenne took a deep breath. "You're my best friend, and I thought you deserved to know the truth."

Ivy began to cry, and Cheyenne hugged her. "Don't worry, Ivy. You'll find the right guy, I promise."

"But Damian is the right guy for me!" Ivy sobbed. "In every way. I can't believe he did this to me!"

Actually, Cheyenne didn't think kissing someone else was that big of a deal (especially at the Legacy, where such behavior was encouraged), but she knew Ivy took it seriously, and she pressed her advantage for all it was worth. "He cheated on you, Ivy. You can't let him get away with that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ivy conceded. "I guess I better go have it out with him."

"Do me a favor," Cheyenne said. "Don't bring up my name when you talk to him. Just tell him Noelle gave you the picture. Or better yet, don't tell him anything about where you got it."

"Why not?" Ivy asked.

Cheyenne shrugged. "I just don't want to get involved, okay?"

"Okay," Ivy agreed. "You're the best, Shy!" She stood up and walked over to the door. "Thanks a lot. I really appreciate you helping me out like this."

"No problem," Cheyenne said warmly. 'We can talk when you get back if you want."

Ivy smiled and shut the door behind her. Once she was sure Ivy was gone, Cheyenne lay down on her bed, her algebra test forgotten. For propriety's sake, she'd have to wait a few weeks before making her move on Damian, but at least she had succeeded in splitting him and Ivy up. Cheyenne rolled over and closed her eyes, imagining herself and Damian together at last.


	8. Chapter 8: Firsts

Chapter 8; Firsts

Cheyenne sat on her bed and studied for World History. History was her best subject, and the only one in which she excelled naturally, rather than by dint of sheer hard work the way she did in her other classes. Cheyenne gritted her teeth as she thought of Ivy, who got just as good grades as Cheyenne despite spending her nights playing Everquest on her computer or making out with Damian instead of studying like Cheyenne did.

Cheyenne's attempt to break up Ivy and Damian by showing Ivy the incriminating photo of Damian and Paige Ryan had failed dramatically. Damian had begged Ivy's forgiveness, had promised never to cheat on her again, and Ivy had forgiven him. Cheyenne thought this showed a fundamental weakness on Ivy's part. Cheyenne herself had vowed when her parents divorced that she would never forgive a boy who cheated on her. By the same token, she had also promised herself that once she fell in love with a boy, she would never cheat on him either. Of course, Cheyenne hadn't been in love with Thomas Pearson, which explained why she didn't consider her seduction attempt on Damian to be cheating.

"Shy, I have a question for you." Ivy's voice interrupted her reverie. "Was Charlemagne the first Carolingian king of France?"

"No," Cheyenne corrected her. 'His father, Pepin the Short, was. Will you help me study for geometry in a few minutes?"

"Sure," Ivy said easily. "Let me just finish up World History, okay?"

Cheyenne was beginning to realize that her feelings toward Damian were dimming a little as the semester drew to a close. This troubled her to the point where she would sit in the dark imagining Damian's face and attempting to convince herself she was still in love with him. One thing that had not dimmed, however, was Cheyenne's resentment toward Ivy. Ivy had everything: the perfect boyfriend, the perfect body, the perfect brain. The girl who had once been Cheyenne's best friend had become her worst nightmare.

If only I could beat Ivy out for Firsts, Cheyenne thought, maybe I wouldn't feel so bad about losing Damian. At the last chapel of the fall semester, Headmaster Cox would announce Firsts, the boy and girl from each class who had gotten the highest grade point average. Cheyenne knew she was in the running for freshman Firsts, but to win she would have to get A's on all her final exams, and geometry was far from her best subject. "Shy, I want to ask you something." Once again, Ivy's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Damian thinks we should make love for the first time before Winter Break. I really want to, but I'm kind of scared at the same time. Did you and Thomas ever do it?"

Cheyenne hesitated, then slowly nodded. "A couple times, before we broke up."

"What was it like?" Ivy asked. She was watching Cheyenne with rapt attention, which Cheyenne found strangely flattering.

Cheyenne considered lying and telling Ivy how horrible it had been in an effort to deter her from wanting to sleep with Damian, then decided it wasn't worth it. "Well, it kind of hurts the first time, but after that, if the guy's good at it, it gets better, A lot better."

Ivy hugged Cheyenne. "Thank you, Shy, I really appreciate your advice. Come on, let's study for geometry."

The rest of the week was a blur of exams and papers for Cheyenne, until finally the day came for the last chapel of the fall semester. Cheyenne made sure to dress up, as did Ivy.

Headmaster Cox stood at the podium and, after delivering the keynote speech, announced the winners of Firsts. "For the freshman class, the class of 2007, the Firsts are: Lance Reagan and Cheyenne Martin!"

Ivy squeezed Cheyenne's hand as she stood up Cheyenne looked over at her, and in that moment, she felt the icy block of resentment she harbored toward Ivy thaw just a little. Finally, Cheyenne Martin was back on top again.


End file.
